Or is it too big like an impala to be considered that? I mean it was a sports luxury car wasnt it? It certainly looks muscular and some came with big blocks, but so did 70s impalas an they arent considered muscle cars. so what is the consensus here?

 

If i remember, the classification of the monte carlo is a personal luxury coupe.

 

Back in the Day the Muscle Car was usually the Super Sport version and in the Chevy the Impala, Chevelle, Camaro, Nova, The Monte Carlo when it first came out in 1970 was more of a Luxury Car with a sporty feel you could get a big block and a 4 speed I know they made an SS. as well. But the Monte would have been a sleeper.
the insurance companies gave it the muscle car ratings by using the VIN #s

 

Depends on who you ask. The Monte Carlo was marketed as a "personal luxury coupe", but it just happened to be based on the Chevelle chassis which was considered a Muscle car. 1973 was a strange year for muscle cars. Federal requirements started making the cars require thicker bumpers, the switch in horsepower ratings, etc. 1973 was also the year that muscle cars were turning over into trim packages instead of powerful engines, so in technicality, the 73 can be considered a "muscle car" but at the same time it's not a true muscle car.

Regardless, today most people will see it as a muscle car based on the V8 and name soooo enjoy that! lol

 

Most of the purists won't consider anything 72 or newer a muscle car, regardless of model. 71 was the last year before engines started putting out lower power due to various emissions equipment that started to appear in 72 as well as drops in compression.

My 73 Z28 is the same body style as the 70-71 Z28s, but put out far less power. The LT1 was dropped after 71 and the L78 that followed in the Z28s had lower compression and put out less power, even if you account for the change from gross to net hp ratings.

 

73 Z28 is still a muscle car, 73 Monte, not so much. Too much of a family "personal" luxury car and certainly not enough HP. Top of the line 350 put out less than 200 HP, even the 454's in the second gen montes were about 240 HP. Still fun to drive and probably not that much slower than even a 72 with similar size motor, and cool as hell, just not a muscle car.

 

I agree, but weren't the Camaro and Mustang and anything else that competed with it considered "pony cars" since they were dedicated sporty cars unlike muscle cars which were mundane mid and full size cars with a big engine?

 

Technically yes hey are pony cars (I think that was more due to the mustang being the first in that category than it was they type of cars because Vettes were considered muscle). I used my Camaro as an example to show the difference in power, even though externally it was identical to the 70-71.

 

Are you saying the difference in power between your 73 camaro and what car? And what is the difference in power? Can you elaborate? Thanks.

 

SupplySgt you are correct, I maybe didn't respond correctly to the original question... Is the 73 Monte considered a Muscle Car? The easy answer is no, i was thinking collectible car from a very cool era in American auto manufacturing history. My thought was whether a collector would consider a '73 Monte as a car he would put on his bucket list as a "would like to own", probably not. Would he consider a 73-74 Z28 with the then standard, more tame L82 instead of solid lifter, ready race LT-1, I would say yes. I might add; A 73 Monte is a cool car and would attract "some" attention at the local Saturday night cruise. As much as a 71 SS454 Monte? Maybe not. As much as a 66-67 SS Chevelle? No. As much as 69 GTO or 69 Z-28? No, but some, because most of us, or our family owned something similar back in the '70s, at least for those of us that were alive in the '70s. And its still just a cool, classy looking Chev with Chevy 350, 400 SB or 454 that wasn't choked with catalytic converters, smog pumps and numerous canisters and hoses all over the place. Great discussion. Hopefully i didn't offend anyone with my original response... Hey, I've owned the same 78 Monte for 36 years, there wasn't much "muscle or collectible" about it in stock form, but I always thought of any Monte as a desirable, up scale ride from Chevy.